As it happened: Zoe Daniel volunteer clashes with former MP Tim Wilson at Anzac event; Landmark defence review to be released
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Key posts
- Today’s headlines
- RBA should not target debt or house prices: review panel
- Lidia Thorpe’s mum and allies in Victorian Voice bid
- Hollingworth admits he made mistakes
- Southern states treated to brilliant light show
- Long COVID is costing the Australian economy $5.7 billion a year
- Anzac Day ‘smokescreen’ for defence cuts: Hastie
- This afternoon’s headlines at a glance
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Today’s headlines
Thanks for joining us today. Here’s a recap of some of our main headlines:
- A landmark review says Australia must spend an extra $19 billion to on defence to confront the threat of China. The review of the Australian military by former Labor defence minister Stephen Smith and former Defence Force chief Angus Houston, calls for extra spending on long-range strike capability across all branches of the Defence Force, hardening military bases in northern Australia and the rapid development of a local missile manufacturing industry.
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The defence strategic review states that the Australian Defence Force is not equipped for a “missile age” of modern warfare that has dramatically reduced the previous benefits of Australia’s geographic isolation.
- The Coalition’s defence spokesman Andrew Hastie delivered a scathing assessment of the review, saying the government was using Anzac Day as a smokescreen to distract attention from defence service cuts. He said the announcement failed to deliver an adequate response to Australia’s defence force challenges.
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Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth admits he has made mistakes, as he accepts the recommendations by an Anglican Church review into abuse allegations found he is “fit for ministry”. The Professional Standards Board for the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne on Monday made the finding.
- Long COVID clinics have been recommended as part of a national review to help close the “treatment gulf” for people suffering from long-term impacts of the virus. A parliamentary report into long COVID in Australia, published today, has estimated between 2 and 20 per cent of people infected with COVID are developing a lingering condition more than three years after the first virus cases were detected in Australia.
- Long COVID is costing the Australian economy at least $5.7 billion a year as tens of thousands are left unable to work by the debilitating disease.
- War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith wants access to diary entries which he alleges could reveal meetings between an investigative journalist and the head of an inquiry into alleged misconduct of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.
RBA should not target debt or house prices: review panel
The Reserve Bank should not use interest rates to target the housing market or address fears about the high debts held by Australians, panel members who reviewed the institution have said, arguing it could cause broader damage to the economy.
The panel members, whose report into the Reserve Bank has paved the way for the largest overhaul of the bank in a generation, said any changes to the way the RBA used interest rates to rein in inflation could be reviewed by a future investigation.
RBA reviewers Carolyn Wilkins (left), Renee Fry-McKibbin and Gordon de Brouwer say the bank shouldn’t use interest rates to target house prices or debt levels.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has committed to the review’s 51 recommendations, released last week, that include the creation of a separate monetary policy committee that will set interest rates, fewer RBA board meetings and the use of press conferences by the bank’s governor to explain decisions.
The review panel, made up of international monetary policy expert Carolyn Wilkins, who sits on the Bank of England’s financial policy committee; Renee Fry-McKibbin, the interim director of the Crawford School at the Australian National University; and Gordon de Brouwer, the secretary for public sector reform; examined the Reserve’s decision-making during recent economic events.
Read the full story here.
‘We have not cancelled Barry Humphries’: Comedy festival rules out renaming award
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival will consider paying tribute to Barry Humphries but is unlikely to revert to naming its top accolade in his honour, festival director Susan Provan says.
The coveted Melbourne International Comedy Festival award, formerly known as the Barry Award, was renamed in 2019 following protests against Humphries’ anti-trans commentary. “I don’t think so, I think we have moved on,” Provan said when asked directly if the festival would consider reinstating the name in honour of the late comedian, who died on Saturday, aged 89.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival director Susan Provan. Credit: Penny Stephens
“I’m not going to speak on behalf of the whole community now – it’s the day after [the festival ended], it’s not the time. But we will look at options and we will come up with an appropriate tribute.”
The Victorian government has offered the Humphries family a public memorial service, which the family was yet to accept.
The festival has come in for criticism over its response to the news of Humphries’ death. Though it issued a statement late on Saturday night acknowledging his passing, it also noted there would be no official tribute on Sunday, its final day.
The news broke just hours after the festival had announced its award winners, including Gillian Cosgriff’s Actually, Good as the recipient of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award, as it was renamed in 2019. “He had impeccable timing right to the end,” notes Provan.
Read the full story here.
Lidia Thorpe’s mum and allies in Victorian Voice bid
Lidia Thorpe’s mother, cousins and political allies are angling for control of the Victorian body that will act as the state’s Indigenous Voice and interact with a national Voice to parliament, generating unrest among some Victorian Indigenous leaders who fear the maverick senator’s influence.
Senator Lidia Thorpe.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Thorpe, a Voice critic who quit the Greens over the party’s referendum stance, is allied with at least a dozen candidates in upcoming elections for the Victorian First Peoples’ Assembly, a representative body elected by Indigenous people that is tasked with negotiating a treaty with the state government.
If the Thorpe-connected candidates – including direct relatives and political allies – are successful, they would form arguably the dominant faction in the body expected to interact with the national Voice to parliament and help select Victorians for the Commonwealth advisory body.
Read the full story here.
Abbott urges PM to restart Indigenous voice process
Former prime minister Tony Abbott is urging the federal government to reconsider its commitment to enshrine an Indigenous Voice in the constitution.
A referendum on the Indigenous Voice will be held between October and December and a parliamentary committee is examining the proposed wording to alter the constitution.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
In a submission to the committee, Abbott said the voice would introduce a “power distinction based on ancestry”.
“The parliament itself is the national voice, and it’s where the voices of Australian citizens in all their diversity should be heard,” he said.
“Win or lose, (the referendum is) likely to leave our country embittered and divided. Yet constitutional change should be unifying and bipartisan.”
Abbott said the process of constitutional recognition had “run off the rails” some years ago and urged the government to restart its efforts.
But former Liberal frontbencher Julian Leeser, who quit the shadow cabinet in order to support the Voice, said the proposal would help shift the dial on Indigenous health, education, housing, safety and economic opportunity.
“As a Liberal, I support the idea of a Voice because I believe in the dignity of the individual,” Leeser said in his submission.
“I believe better policy is made when people affected by it are consulted on that policy.”
AAP
WA Premier Mark McGowan voices concerns about China rhetoric
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has voiced concerns about the rhetoric towards China in the wake of a landmark defence review, just days after returning from a trade mission in Beijing.
When grilled about the report’s findings, including the need to expedite preparations for a possible conflict with the superpower, McGowan told reporters in Perth today he preferred not to talk about “threats” and said the conversation should instead focus on the importance of having a strong defence force.
WA Premier Mark McGowan.Credit: Kerry Faulkner
The WA premier said it was crucial the two countries maintained a harmonious relationship.
“We need to be a voice of reason and not use inflammatory language,” he said.
“We can get along with our biggest trading partner and have a strong defence force, those two things are not inconsistent.
“I just think we need to calm down and tone down the rhetoric.
“We need to be more reasonable with the countries in our region and our relationships with them while maintaining our defence ties.”
China remains WA’s largest trading partner, accounting for almost half of the state’s international exports ($146 billion worth) in 2022.
Hollingworth admits he made mistakes
Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth admits he has made mistakes, as he accepts the recommendations by an Anglican Church review into abuse allegations found he is “fit for ministry”.
The Professional Standards Board for the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne today made the finding.
In a statement, the 88-year-old conceded while he was archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s he failed to appropriately respond to abuse complaints, but said he did not commit any crimes.
“I made mistakes and I cannot undo them,” he said.
“I accept the Board’s recommendations and look forward to these matters finally being put to rest,” Hollingworth said in a statement.
Peter HollingworthCredit: Eddie Jim
“Hardly a day has passed in the past 30 years when I have not reflected on these matters and my failings. I had devoted my life to social justice, pastoral care and healing, but I had little experience in dealing with the child abuse issues. Like other church leaders, I was unduly influenced by the advice of lawyers and insurance companies.”
The board dismissed three allegations of misconduct and sustained six allegations.
Hollingworth was the subject of a church inquiry following concerns over his handling of abuse cases while he was archbishop.
He must formally apologise to victims of child sex abuse who were affected under his leadership.
Hollingworth held the role of archbishop for more than a decade before becoming Australia’s 23rd governor-general, but resigned in 2003 after a series of revelations about his response to multiple abuse complaints.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service: 1800 211 028
AAP
Southern states treated to brilliant light show
Early risers along Victoria’s south coast were among those who captured a show of brilliant light this morning.
Reports of what watchers have rated as one of the best Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights displays in recent years have been posted on social media during a geomagnetic storm this morning.
If you saw the Aurora Australis and have any great images you’d like to share, our reporters would love to talk to you.
Long COVID is costing the Australian economy $5.7 billion a year
Long COVID is costing the Australian economy at least $5.7 billion a year as tens of thousands are left unable to work by the debilitating disease.
While the exact level of absenteeism caused by long COVID is not known, new analysis by Impact Economics and Policy, using a “lower range” estimate that an average of 40,000 people are unable to work due to the illness, puts the weekly cost to gross domestic product at $110 million, or $5.7 billion annually. If the highest estimates for long COVID absenteeism is used the cost to GDP rises to $880 million a week, or $46 billion a year.
Dr Angela Jackson, an economist at Impact Economics and Policy who did the costings analysis, said the figures “highlight the long-term economic costs from COVID-19 and the ongoing need for public health measures including vaccination and education”.
Jackie Bos and her dog Atom.
Writer and editor Jackie Bos is one of the thousands whose working life has been disrupted by long COVID. She contracted the virus a year ago and has still not recovered. Her symptoms included breathing difficulties, persistent “brain fog” and memory loss, chest pain, nerve pain, internal tremors, palpitations, dizziness, rashes, fatigue and weight loss.
“Unfortunately, it is not past tense, but it is improving,” she said.
Read the full story here.
Long COVID database and more clinics needed
A national COVID database, more purpose-built long COVID clinics in hospitals and GP education programs are needed to improve treatment for people suffering long-term impacts of the coronavirus, some of whom face year-long waits for specific services or are denied diagnoses.
A parliamentary report into long COVID in Australia, published today, has estimated between 2 and 20 per cent of people infected with COVID are developing a lingering condition more than three years after the first virus cases were detected in Australia.
But there is no concrete data on how many Australians are affected by long COVID nor the most effective way to treat it – leading the parliamentary committee to call for a unified national approach to research, data collection, definitions and guidelines.
“There are lots of things about COVID and long COVID we do not understand,” said Labor MP and pediatrician Mike Freelander, who chaired the committee.
“We were reporting the figures, but we’re not analysing the figures, and we’re not collecting them all together in a national program. That’s what we need … COVID is not going away, and we must get research into the actual effects of this virus, which are actually fascinating.”
The report said a future Australian Centre of Disease Control – which Labor promised before the election – should administer a single COVID database and lead a nationally co-ordinated research program.
Read the full story here.
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